Plier wrench



PLIER WRENCH Filed Aug. 9, 1923 2 Sheets-Shes t 1 F /Z- Z2 a WITNESSES. I I WVENTOR I,

Z20: /ZM/ If] 6 ml IKE/1 A TTMWEXS Nov. 5, 1924. 1,517,162

. P. F. KING PLIER WRENCH File Z- 1 2 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYS Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

PEBGIVAL F. KING, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PLIER WRENCH.

Application filed. August 9,1923.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, PEROIVAL F. KING, a

citizen of Canada, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Flier Wrench, ofwhi'ch the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention, aiming to provide an inexpensive, quick-adjusting, positive-grip wrench of the plier type, has the principal object to provide a plier wrench of the crossed-handle and locking-jaw and frictiongripped horn type, in which, particularly, the cost of manufacture of the various relatively movable parts carried directly or indirectly by the crossed handles will not be really prohibitive as heretofore, but, on the contrary, will be practically nominal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a plier wrench of the type just characterized, but which shall incorporate a novel and valuable means for frictionally gripping the horn when the horn-guiding jaw is rocked relative to the jaw from which the horn fixedly projects, and such a means adapted to have great efficiency in applying a relatively long gripping-force couple lengthwise of the horn at all spacings of the jaws on gripping a nut or the like within the range of adjustment of the wrench.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved jaw-face particularly adapted for use in connection with a plier wrench, that is to say, with a wrench wherein friction and wedging means or both are solely relied on to hold the jaws clamped tigl' t to a clutched nut or the like.

v The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying draw ngs forming part of this specification; with the understandi'ng,'however, that such drawings illustrate, merely by way of example, several possible embodiments and principles of the invention, and that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the Serial No. 656,520.

invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one of such embodiments, with the jaws expanded almost to the prevised maximum;

Fig. 2' is a View similar to Fig. 1, but showing the jaws closer together and engagiing a nut;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view, being a horizontal section taken on line 3+3 of Fig. 2; 1

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig 5 is a side elevation, partially broken away and partially in section, showing another embodiment;

Fig. 6 is what may be termed a top plan view of the wrench of Fig. 5 but with the upper portion of the horn shown in trans verse section according to the line 6-6 of said Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 77 of Fig. 5, and showing the lower or horn-anchoring jaw in top plan; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse section, taken on line 88 of Fig. 7 but on even a larger scale than said Fig. 7

In Figs. 1 to 4, in which like numerals of reference designate like parts, 10 is the lower jaw which is shouldered as indicated best at 11 in Fig. 2, to provide a central longitudinal ear 12 for reception at its rear portion between the bifurcated end 13 of one of the pair of crossed handles 14 and 15; these handles, as is conventional, being interpivoted at 16, and the lower jaw 10, as has heretofore been suggested, being pivoted to handle 14 as at 17.

The upper jaw 18 is shouldered at opposite sides topro'vide a reduced ear 19 the rear portion of which is received within the bifurcated end of handle 15; and said jaw 18 and said handle 15 are interpivoted, as has heretofore been suggested, at 20.

The horn here employed, and indicated at 21, is U-shaped and comprises, as best shown in Fig. 4, a central bowl always overlying the top of upper jaw 18, while the legs of the U areidentical in length and in shape. This horn thus presents the free ends of '26 here;

relatively the legs of the U, or the lower end portions thereof, since said legs are spaced apart a distance precisely equal to the thickness of ears 12 and 19, such that, on application of rivets 22, the horn may be anchored rigidly to lower j aw 10 and tight against shoulders 11, while the upper portions of the legs of the horn snugly yet freely slidingly embrace opposite sides of the car 19 of upper jaw 18.

In the present case, the opposite edges of horn 21, and marked 23 and 24 in Figs. 1 and 2, are given slight substantially parallel curvatures, so that the edge 24: of each leg of the horn convexly faces the curved forward edge 25 of handle 15 located at one or the other side of car 19 of the upper jaw, and so that each edge 23 of each leg of the horn concavely faces the shoulder wall formed on one side or the other of the upper jaw toestablish ear 19 thereof. Each of these shoulder walls is identically curved as at 26. As will be understood in a moment, however, the edges 23 and 24 of the horn legs or either of such edges may be varied considerably in curvature, or may even be made straight, provided the coacting friction-gripping surfaces provided for the horn less by the elements 25 and 26 on opposite sides of the wrench are compeiisatingly varied.

These edges, walls or surfaces 25 and 26 constitute the friction-gripping or oppositely co-active wedging' elements for acting on the curved walls, edges or surfaces of horn 21 to impose a turning and hence gripping, clamping or wedging couple thereon, whenever upper jaw 18 is forcibly very slightly uptilted relative to an interposed object, such as the nut 27 of Fig. 2,

on a squeezing together of the p lm-held portions of handles 14- and 15 sufficiently first to cause the jaws to seize such nut and then to tend to advance parallelly into a closer adjacency than the presence of the nut permits. Such co-active friction-gripping surfaces have been heretofore proposed by me, in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,438,442, granted December 12, 1922. But

in the construction there disclosed, frictionarippingsurfaces somewhat analogous to the present surfaces 25 and 26, are formed on the front andback walls of a vertical tunnel-like slot cut through the upper jaw. In other words, 'in said patent the euuiva- 'lents of the presentsurfaces 25 and 26 are immovable at all times. a conception distinctly the contrary of that underlying the present invcntion. And, further, the so-called equivalent relatively immovable surfaces of said patent are really not at all the eouivalents of the surfaces 25 and This is so because such surfaces of such patent are not smoothly convexly curved or indeed really curved at all, nor arejthey plane or substantially plane, but

instead are made up of a plurality of longitudinal subdivisions each of which is substantially plane, thus to present a distinct lateral ridge or mere line-contact-gripper for the horn where such subdivisions join. Such a mere line-contact-friction-grip relative to the horn is not as positive and reliable, nor as long-lived, as a plane or surface contact. Above and. beyond. all these considerations, however, the surfaces 25 and 26 of the present invention are relatively movable and thus moved each time one jaw of the wrench is moved toward or away from the other. As a result, whenever the handles 14 and 15 are squeezed together to move the jaws toward each other, the surfaces of handle 15 move relatively to the surfaces 26 on upper jaw 18, and both sets of surfaces 25 and 26 move relative to the sets of surfaces 23 and 24- of the horn; and it will be noted that while the horn and the upper jaw slide relatively, and the lower jaw and handle 14- rock relatively, the upper jaw and its surfaces 26 rock not only relatively to the horn but to the surfaces 25 carried by handle 15. And it is partially as a result of all these simultaneone and relative rotational and translational movements of the several parts, that, as I have found in practice, surfaces 25 and 26 may be smoothly and very slightly convexly curved as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and That is to say, I have discovered that both. the relatively movable sets of frictizm-gripping surfaces 25 and 26 may be shaped to present convex curvatures as just characterized, each of which at no point along its length has a distinct change of direction readily perceptible as such at that particular point. Otherwise stated, a distinct lateral ridge is not presented by either surface and 26; and thus, at practicall all adjustments of the jaws, from fully open position to fully closed position. illt friction-gripping surfaces for the born 21 act to squeeze rather large areas thereof against opposite sides of the horn imme diately on squeezing the jaws tight against the nut or the like interposed between them. These new friction surfaces, of course, do not interfere at all with a ready release of the jaws, once the long-arms of the handles 14 and 15 are pushed slightly apart; indeed, such surfaces permit even a readier and smoother release than heretofore. The curvatures of the surfaces 25 and 26 are not arc-uate or circular, and in stead are given an aberraucy of curvature. as the latter term is used in inensuration. Each of these surfaces represent some sort of a compound curve; what is commonly known as an indeterminate curve, e. pm, a curve indeterminate except by empirical ascertainment, since such curve cannot, as the invention is now understood, be said iuu pei-nt-ied' out ag to be may gbfiitfil argebl' sic curva tiii'e clefinabl by an aqua-ties. It Will be noted that an" important characteristic of the curve of each siich' surfaces 25 and 26, tee, is thefa ctthat the curves are very sha'llciv \vliich t sa'yliniag -l'ning that the curves are ar'c-u'ate or circular, they are struck from a radii s'olla'rge that the lengths of the c'uives would rep're .t but very small fractions of the" entire, circles generated by such radii. Satisfactory results are attained even when the surfaces 25 and 26 so cldSeljajajifoatch the plane as merely to allew sufiici eiit' change 0t angle to perinit free travel of the 01-11.

In a construction pursuant to the inventiou as just described, it" Imsbeen notecl in connection with tests with a full-size ivc'rking' modeh; that tlie" centers of pressure oft-he surfaces 25 and26 at Opposite sides of the heiii are wspaced longitudinally of the turn", in all adjustments of the javvs when gripping interposed objects it clifterent sizes; a very met reater distance than are the mere lateral ridge-grippers of the somewhat analogous but relatively iinnicvahle, surfaces f the patent aforesaid; and it has been further notecl, in similar tests, that such distance, in the present construct'icn, is practically thesaine in all deei-ees' of separation of; the ja'v'vs except for a slight but a' 'ipre'ciable; hence desirable. auglnentatien (if such. distance at spacings of the ivhere the long arins of the handles 14 and 1 5 so spaced as to give the least efficient a1m ri here0 It will have been appreciated frem the foregoing; that One of the most ilnpertant contrihutions of the present invention t0- Ward the attainment of the ohject of a plier wrench of gieat efii'ciency in use, is the carriage of surfaces 25 01 51711 analegue on pile, of the hantlles l l ancl 15', thus to make the surfacesj and 26 relatively nevable as above descrihed. This very construction, further, IIl&k8S possible the attain- Inent of one of the most impertant bjects of the present invention, the One, first hereimbov'e reited, to wit, to- 'previde a pm; Wreiich which may. be manufactured at other than a prehihitive cest in'cleech at nbrniiial ivipeii se. in this cdnnefction, itlis" herein that the ho e-sngaging surfaces carried 101v the; upper jaw in' said-- patent are certain of tlie hbiunding falls of a tuhnel-ljilie" vertical opening in the upper jaw; manufacturing such t e iia shape the only;.possilole. ay cf ma c1 ni suclitiififiei-likssop 'fiing; vvliicltit was found had cessa to beef hen-circuter eross-sec' p quirecl to be red angular in ei'ess sectien if the late 1; cont" ridges"characteristic as afere's'a i'cl (if the analogues for" the present surfaces 25 and 26 were to he of sufiicient length to act at all pursuant to the cheery of the invention, was tc subject the forged jaw to a breaching 01' milling operation, vat a: cost of approximately thirty cents for each jaw, and at a cost of at least twentyfive cents even with the most expensive and elaborate production tools and processes as new conceivable. In the case of the present invention,- however, clue to the U- sha'petl horn 91. with its legs embracingthe plane parallel opposite sides of ear 19 of the upper jaw, and due to the fact that these op posite sides of such ear extend to i the very inner encl ot the entire aw, it will be seen that the upper jaw may be dropforgetl not only as to its main forrn but also tojn'ovide the ear 19 as the result of such drop-forging operation, and that the necessity for an} expensive forging or similar machining is entirely eliminated.

New referring to the embodiment o'fFigs. 5 and 6; it-Wlll be shown that iiideterinind- 11y curved friction-gripping surfaces accord} to the invention may be employed, breaching or similarly expensive machining operations relative to the upper jaw may be eliminatech and an equally satisf-actei'y and practically as inexpensive a pliei' wrenchmay be provided, by the use of quite a different type of multi-leg horn structure for the lower jaw than that shovvn in Figs. 1 t0 4. j y

Int-he ease of said \vrench of Figs, 5 and 6, saitl horn 30 is again a Ushapecl one, but is arranged with its two legs in a plane running lcneitutlinally rather, than laterally 0f the tirehch jaws, The jaivs and handles arevpivoted together at 28 and 29. The Lower jaiv 31 is bifurcated at its rear encl t e' provide a pair. of embracing ears 32f01 a single central ear 33 of one of the crossed handles 34:, While the upper jaw 35 is similarly shapecl at its rear encl to ernbrace a single leaf-v36 0n handle 37. Handles 84 and' 37 are interpivoted as at 38. The test of the horn 30 here also lies above upper jaw and therefore said horn, like the hern 21 of Fig. l, incorporates stop means for n'ecleterminiitg the maximum anieiint. of separatien of jaws 10 and also means for always holding the two jawlssuhstantially to parallelism and prdperly on the r var ous pivotal neunts to hcld the wrench always adapted foruse pursuant to the invention This so, because While the leg (if the U-h oru imirkecl 30 1n' F1g. co-acts with trictien-grippmg surfaces 39 and {l0 pursuant to the i'nventien ancl dne of which is carried by crossed hantlle 37 and s0 rnovahle relative to the ether, the other leg of the horn passes through a an eel-like passage ell cut vertically threugh the upper jaw, This passage 41 has fro it and rear friction-grippingsurfaces smoothiii) ly convexly curved according to the invention, but. obviously somewhat differently shaped from the surfaces 39 and 40 (more or less identical with the surfaces and 26 of Fig. 1).; it being kept in mind that said surfaces of passage 41 are relatively in movable at all times. But the point is, that said passage 41 does not require breaching, millingor similarly expensive machining operations for its establishment. This is due: to the fact, as will readily be seen from an inspection of Fig. 6, that said passage 41 is substantially circular in cross-section atell points along its length and-truly circular incross-section for a certain portion of its middle length. The friction-gripping surfaces within passage all are of course necessarily obtained by enlarging such passage at opposite ends, longitudinally of jaw 35, so as to give slightly elliptical or oval cross sections to passage 41 at the top and bottom portions thereof; but it will be understood that the real establishment of said passage is the result of a mere drilling operation, plus a special later filing operation or operations of inconsiderable expense. Thus, in the case of the embodiment of Fig. 5, as in the case of the embodiment of Fig 1, the shaping of the upper jaw isin the main if not entirely a drop-forging proposition, aside from inexpensive drilling and filling operations in the special case of the embodiment of Fig, 5; and that in neither of the preferred Wrench structures of the present invention as herein illustrated, is there any necessity for providing a tunnel-like hornengaging passage of large cross-sectional area and of polygonal cross-section as heretofore suggested, in 'said'patent. This is so, because the frictiongripping surfaces of passage 41 are designed to have a much less degree of co-action with their leg of the U-horn than are surfaces 39 and relative to their le further, the cross-sectional area of each of the two legs of the U-horn here pro vided may be very much less than the crosssec-tion of the single spike-like horn heretofore proposed, with the result that the leg 'of U-horn 30 in passage 41 has a considerable amount of inherent resilient flexibility; and, further, due to the presence of a plurality of separately and simultaneous ly engageable lengths for the horn, to wit, the two legs thereof, thelong surfaces of saidlegs engaged by the two pairs of simultaneously functioning friction-gripping surfaces, may be convexly curved laterally, yet neverthelessto insurethat the wrench will work perfectly pursuant to the theory of the invention. That the last-mentioned result is attained by the exceedingly inexpensive and simple construction of Figs. 5 and 6, has also been demonstrated, by'repeated tests with a full-size working model.

The structural description ofthe embodiment of Figs. 5 and 6 will have been fully described when it is pointed out that U-horn 30 is mounted at its lower end fixedly on lower 31 by forcing as shown the free ends of the legs of the U-horn into a pair of straight parallel tunnel-like openings of circular cross-section, and by riveting, as at 42, one of said legs in place. It will further be noted that each of the two legs of the U-horn 30 are flattened parallel with the length of the wrci'icln as shown most clearly in Fig. 6; which feature, I have found, makes for better and easier action of the wrench, both in gripping and releasing,-in the presence of a passage ll substantially circular in crosssection as hereinabove explained. And in this connection it should also be pointed out that the bifurcated rear end of upper jaw at the inner end of such bifurcation, is shaped to provide a somewhat similar passage, as indicated at 41 in Fig. 6, by a similar drilling operation and similar minor filing operations or the like.

The subject-matter of Figs. 7 and 8, and here illustratively forming a feature of the wrench of Figs. 5 and 6, but which obviously may also form a feature of the wrench of Figs. 1 and 2, constitutes a feature of the invention which is most important in assuring a tight grip by the two wrench jaws, and an exceedingly long life for the gripping faces of such jaws despite the natural tendency of these gripping faces to wear due to relative rocking movements always occurring between the jaws and the seized object, each time the wrench is used. There is illustrated merely a gripping face construction for the lower jaw; but of course it will be understood that preferably the construction illustrated is that characteristic of the gripping face of each jaw. The new gripping face incorporates two main features, which act here in conjunction. One of such features is what I term the bird-bill structure and comprises a marginal rib 43, a groove 44 alongside and within said rib, and a substantially plane portion 45 above and beyond said groove but lower than the crest of said rib. In Fig. 8 portion 4-5 is shown as having a slight lateral convexity; and the term substantiallyplane as just used, is employed in a sense to include such a slight convexity, laterally or longitudinally or both. As shown in Fig. 7, the upper face of the jaw is lanceolate, and as will be seen froma comparison of Fig. 5, the entire contour of such jaw suggests a bird-bill. Rib 48, and also groove-44L, hence resembles a long reverse curve, somewhat like a flattened ellipse, symmetrical on both sides of the longitudinal center line of the jaw. In practice, I have found that it is most desirable to make the maximum depth of groove 44 about where the vertical distance belltl tween the crest of the rib and the top of the. substantially plane portion is The other feature of the new gripping-face is a structure which I conveniently term the fingerprintsuction-grip. As will be seen from Figs. 7 and 8, thisstructure essentially comprises a plurality of non-straight grooves l6, one of which partially or wholly embraces another; and, as shown in Fig. 8, with each groove of less depth than the adjoining groove which the first-mentioned groove embraces. In the present case, each groove 46 is, roughly, ovate, and the innermost groove completely embraces a central suction-pit 4L7 of maximum depth. It will be seen that as to the grooves 46, their relative dispositions and depths may be described as follows, to wit, that the grooves are substantially elliptical and sub stantially concentric and decrease in depth as they increase in diameter. As will be seen from Fig. 8, suchprogressive outward decrease in depth of the grooves is partially accounted for by the slight convexity of the portion L5 of the bird-bill structure.

Several embodiments of the invention have thus been described with great particularity and detail, in an endeavor to bring out clearly the nature and importance of the present contribution to the plier-wrench art; but it should be distinctly understood that, as hereinabove indicated, wide variations may of course be resorted to within the scope of the following claims.

In closing this specification, it is es pecially pointed out that the horn of the present invention is essentially a horn structure comprising a plurality of spaced leg members, whether formed as separate spikelike elements, or whether parts of a unitary element and then connected together above the upper jaw or below the lower jaw to form a substantially U-shaped horn or at both the points last indicated to form a substantially O-shaped horn. Also, it is especi ally pointed out that, whereas there is disclosed in the patent aforesaid a tunnel-like opening, that is, an opening having a transverse outline of unbroken continuity, or a true transverse aperture, through the jaw which slidingly engages the horn, in the case of the present invention the horn, or at least one leg member of a horn-structure including a plurality of such leg members as aforesaid, essentially engages an external surface subdivision of, or a channel-type recess on, the jawlast-mentioned. Such a recess, in the sense of the present invention, and as the term is used in the following claims, is illustrated by that recess established in Fig. l as the result of the an gular relationship between shoulder 26 and the meeting side face of ear 19, and is also illustrated by the recess established in Fig.

' 5 between surface 39 and the two ears of the upper jaw extending rearwardly from said surface.

An important feature of the new plier wrench, and one highly recommended for proper working of the present invention, although not absolutely essential nor herein claimed, resides in so relating the parts and particularly the horn and the friction-gripping surfaces therefor that the wall-parts on and adjacent to the upper jaw which constitute guiding ways for the horn intermediate said surfaces, do not have face contact with the lengths of the horn lying opposite thereto, thereby to give a mere line contact between said wall parts and said lengths of the horn, thereby in turn to preclude jamming of the wrench parts by trapped grease, grit, etc. Such a construction is of course illustrated in connection with Fig. 6, by the expedient of making the tunnel-like opening or aperture ll and channel-like opening or recess 41* concave between the friction-gripping surfaces thereof and shaping each of the two legs of the U-horn 30 so as to be flattened on oppositc sides parallel with the length of the wrench, as hereinabove described. A similar result may be obtained in the case of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to a, if, referring to Fig. 3, the opposite plane sides of ear 19 are left as shown, and the legs of the U-horn 21 areshaped to have their faces which lie opposite these sides of the ear, laterally concave from end to end.

I claim:

1. A plier wrench including a pair of crossed handles, a pair of jaws each pivoted to one of said handles, a horn operatively associated with both jaws, and means carried by the wrench and including a friction-gripping surface carried by the upper jaw adapted to wedge the horn fast to both jaws when the handles are squeezed together and to release such wedging engagement when said handles are separated, said horn being U-shaped, the free ends of the legs of the if being fixed to the lower jaw, said legs slidingly engaging said friction-gripping surface and forming a part of said means, and the bowl of the U being located beyond the upper jaw, said means also including a friction-gripping surface for the horn and carried by the handle to which the upper jaw is pivoted.

2. A plier wrench comprising a pair of crossed handles, a. jaw pivotally secured to the free end of each of said handles, a horn carried by one of the jaws and embracing the other jaw, and a cam face formed on the end of one of the handles and adapted to engage said horn to produce a. binding action between the horn and the pivoted aws upon movement of the crossed handles in a direction. toward each other.

3. In a plier wrench, a pair of crossed handles, a jaw pivotally connected to the end of each handle, a U-shaped horn rigid- 1y secured to oneof said jaws and embracing the other of said jaws, a plurality of curved gripping faces formed on the jaw embraced, by said horn and adapted for engagement with one side of said horn, and a PERCIVAL F. KING. 

